Resumé

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Product Design/ Principal Stylist Armstrong World Industries, Lancaster, PA 2007 -2011
Owner and creative director of Armstrong design portfolio across multiple products, brands and channels. Responsible for on trend customer focused product launches. Guided team of managers and specialists across technical and design disciplines.
• Authored multi channeled design briefs and key documentation to support the NPD process for quarterly launches.
• Researched and communicated relevant design, style and market trends. Delivered reports across organization.
• Responsible for increasing concept development more than 60% with outsourced and internal resources.
• Leveraged design leadership through multimedia communications.
• Provided design leadership through distributors sale training venues.
• Initiate and Integrated customer feedback from concept feedback, surveys, ethnographic and VOC research.
• Defined and mapped frontend design process for process improvement.

Consultant / Owner Wet Paint design, Lancaster, Pa 12/2005-2007Services included color direction, trend research, product interpretation, original designs, customer presentations and sales support.
• Developer of woven material construction and vendor research.
• Yarn development and color chain set development.
• Customized product designs for key market focused solutions.
• Initiated Product analysis, Line extensions and new product development.

Product Design Manager / Principal Designer Rotogravure SurfaceArmstrong World Industries, Lancaster, PA 2003 -12/2005Provided design and color direction for Armstrong’s global portfolio for US markets with annual sales exceeding $100 million.
• Providing strategic direction for color and design trends. Launches exceeded 148 SKU per year.
• Authored design briefs, gap analysis and style guides.
• Responsible for increasing concept development more than 40% with internal resources.
• Successfully integrated product trends working closely with marketing and brand management.
• Communicated design leadership to internal and external customers, provided sales training.
• Responsible for a customer dialogue process. Scheduled team of 12 for monthly VOC events.
• Implemented new process to reduced prototype costs by 50%.

Product Manager / Woven and Printed Product Design Karastan Mohawk, Eden, NC  1998 – 2003Held responsibility for design management over licensed handmade Ralph Lauren imports for high-end market Directed international import design team for new product development. Managed and designed Branded Woven Product with approximately $75 million in annual sales.
• Styled new product lines and product extensions. Produced and managed custom designs for commercial and residential projects.
• Served as team member in development of color lines, weave construction and yarn development.
• Researched color trends and styles.
• Interacted with clients for custom product development and sales training. Created and presented storyboards for style strategies and color forecasting.
• Generated design development in Rug Department with an estimated $75 million in annual sales.
• Products included Axminster, Van deWeile, Karaloc woven rugs and broadloom.
• Provided computer-generated designs via Minerva and Texcelle programs.

Surface Design / Owner Designer, Wet Paint, Greensboro, NC 1995 – 1998• Owner of creative development, marketing, production and sales.• Designed, produced and managed floor coverings sold in nationally known retail catalogs.
• Provided hand-painted original designs. Created original surface designs as well as designs for contract jacquards and dobbies.
• Developed placement prints, embroidery, embossments and embellishments for women’s apparel.

EDUCATION / TRAINING/ MEMBERSHIPS
Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA - Bachelor of Arts – Major concentration: Printmaking, Fiber Arts
Parsons School of design, New York, NY -Freehand perspective drawing, Theater Design, Story Board Design and Development.Production Design in Film
New School, New York, NY
Artist Apprentice – Conran Marca Relli, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Work Shops and Memberships
Adobe Illustrator, ASID Adobe Photo Shop, Color Marketing Group, WGSN, Design Management Institute, Diversity Training, Problem solving Training, Innovation Focus Ethnography training.

Projects by Linda Abrams